Because
by Duchess Eileen
Summary: What kind of heaven is this? Honestly, it seems like a pretty sucky one. Naruto gets close, and I pass out. How can one explain "I love you"? // NaruHina. Spoilers for Chapter 437. //
1. Her

_**D**__isclaimer'd_ _:_ It was the worst of times, it was the I-don't-own-Naruto times.

_**M**y Note :_ Why hello thar. :o Where did you come from? :3

Anywhoozle, I have wrote a story. Would you like to read it? It's NaruHina, by the way. :) Probably won't throw in any other couples either. Happens right after 437. My own interpretation of what happened next. Which, on the topic of the chapter 437, I squealed while reading. If 437 (my new favorite number, by the way) isn't the best chapter in the world, I don't know what is. From Hinata's perspective, with the good romantic spin Naruto needs. :3 I do love Hinata. I relate to her. I used to be just like her, afraid of what everyone thought of me. Heck, even afraid of my own shadow at times, you know? I assume Hinata's probably the same. D: But she does have good reason to be afraid of her shadow. I mean, come on, Shikamaru can control it at any give moment.

... enjoy the story. :D

**SPOILER WARNING SPOILER WARNING SPOILER WARNING SPOILER WARNING**

{_spoilers for chapter 437_}

~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~

**B**_e_caus_e_

~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~

p**a**rt ._one_.

I told him.

I really did.

All these years... I'd even begun to think that perhaps it was impossible. But I said it. _I love you. _I stared at Pain, his emotionless face, trying to ignore the parts of my brain that were short circuiting. I liked imagine that his face was in total shock, maybe even blushing. Maybe he loved me too.

But even with my byakugan, I didn't bother to find out. I cut off my vision of him.

Honestly, I was afraid. What if he was horrified?

But for the time being, for the time left, I let the thought that yes, he loved me too, take over. The thought that we would live happily ever after.

Happily ever after.

Narrowing my eyes, I prepared myself mentally and physically. _Anything for him, anything for him._

I let out a shout as I charged at the man before me. Juho soshiken... I actually managed my jutsu successfully. I wondered if my father would be proud.

_Yes_, some part of me thought, _he would be._ At the very least, he would be, in my mind.

His jutsu hit me. I couldn't dodge it. I wasn't even sure if my own attack hit. I didn't think it did. With a shriek, I felt myself propelled backward.

The ground slowed me, eventually, and I laid on my side, feeling blood trickle down my cheek. A searing pain raced up my right arm.

This was it. It was over.

Funny.

I'd always dreamed of my life turning into a romance.

Never once did I imagine it may become a romantic tragedy.

"STOP!!" It was Naruto. My Naruto. Screaming for me. I told myself, I could die happy. He cared, at least enough. My goal was fulfilled: I'd finally told him.

But at the same time, regret and horror flooded into my broken and battered body. This was not what I'd wanted. I'd wanted to grow old with him, to make out with him under a full moon, to love him, and have him love back. I wanted the whole shebang for my story.

As Pain's sword pierced through my chest, I realized that my story was over. There was no happy ending. Tears mixed with blood, as they cascaded down my cheek.

Screaming.

I wasn't sure whom it was. Maybe it was me? I was losing it, everything was going fuzzy. I couldn't breath, and my chest... dear god. It was over.

It was over.

~ - x - ~

Heaven was not quite what I'd expected of it. A white washed ceiling stared back at me, to my utmost surprise.

And in heaven, aren't you supposed to not be able to feel pain? Because I sure didn't have that going for me at the current time. I felt like I'd just gone for a ride in a dryer. My chest particularly hurt. Right below my right breast, particularly. And to boot, my arm felt like Lee had used it as a punching bag.

Talking. I blinked slowly, trying focus on the words. Yes, someone was definitely talking. But I couldn't quite understand what the words were. Oddly enough, it was like they were out of focus.

Someone prodded me in my left arm, and I let out a low moan. Jeez, all this hype about the Will of Fire, and this is the treatment dead people get? I couldn't help but feel disappointed.

I felt something odd in my left arm. Had it been there before? I wasn't sure, but I could definitely feel it now. Something odd... I decided quickly that I didn't like it. Shifting myself, I tried to move my arm, to detach it. Several hands held me down though, appearing out of nowhere. I found myself unable to move. More sounds, as the angels (I assumed) tried to calm me down.

I slowly tilted my head forward, my eyes drowsily locking on where my left arm should be. But I honestly couldn't see it at first. In fact, I couldn't really see anything. Blurriness encompassed my sight, leaving me at a disadvantage. Doing my best to focus on my left arm, the picture started to become clearer.

An IV drip? Would one of those really be needed for the after life?

Of course not. If I hadn't been in massive amounts of pain, and unable to move, I would of smacked myself on the head.

Clearly I survived.

… survived what though? Lowering my head back onto the pillow (which I just realized was under my head) I thought back. What had just happened?

Let's see. Akatsuki! That's right, Pain, a member of Akatsuki attacked the village. Ended up blowing a huge hole in it. Pausing, I slid my eyes closed again, recalling the details.

Naruto appeared. I could distinctly remember the red over coat, with the flames. He looked... grown up, powerful. Like a Hokage. If I was more of a girly girl, I might dub him as a 'dream-boat'. Any which way, I recalled he fought Pain. And was doing especially well.

Until he ended up getting pinned to the ground. Grimacing mentally, I summoned my last few memories.

I ditched Ko. He'd broken his leg, and couldn't stop me. I attacked Pain, and then when Naruto demanded why I was there...

_Oh right._

_I professed my love to Naruto._

_Hold on two seconds.... I'm still alive._

_… and which means that I will, inevitably, have to face him again._

_… Oh._

_… My._

_… God._

~ - x - ~

I was pretty sure I had passed out, earlier. There was a silence in the air, as I woke up. Everywhere hurt. This time, I closed my eyes and waited for the drowsiness to die. With a clearer perception, I analyzed myself. My right arm was definitely shattered, while my chest, right below my right breast, was incredibly sore, and ached with a vengeance. Even more strange, was the skin around my waist and stomach; it felt like a large burn.

Opening my eyes slowly, I found myself facing the same white ceiling. I felt like greeting it. It was nice to see a familiar face. Ever so slowly, my eyes made their way down. Two figures were sitting on chairs on the other side of the room. Now that I focused on them, I could hear them talking. I wasn't sure why I didn't hear it before.

Something wet poked my left cheek, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Eh, Akamaru, don't scare her!" Someone laughed softly.

"Is she awake?" Someone else asked shortly. I recognized the voice, muffled slightly by a high collar. Shino.

And of course, Akamaru. I turned my head slowly, and stared at the dog. He was blurry, but I could make out his big cream furry form. Poking his nose into mine, Akamaru stared deep into my eyes. Normally, I might have laughed at his puppy eyes. But I wasn't sure I could. Rolling my head back, I glanced down at my nose.

Sure enough, an odd plastic thing was strapped to my face. An air mask. I had to wonder, what other obvious things was I missing? Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the sound around me; the beeping of a heart monitor, the panting of Akamaru, the whirl of a fan, and four heart beats.

Four? Who was the fourth?

_Probably Kurenai,_ I reasoned, before continuing my end-all examination of my current predicament.

My right arm was bandaged up. It was snapped in three places along my lower arm, and smashed pretty thoroughly around my wrist, but wasn't really hurting too much. My chest-wound was definitely some sort of puncture wound. Oddly enough, it seemed to extend to and through my heart. But that couldn't be. As I would have been dead, if that'd been the case. A few inches below that wound was the burn mark; about a foot in diameter, it circled my abdomen. It must have been a pretty bad burn, as most burns were relatively easy to heal with chakra.

Other then those things, I seemed averagely fine.

"Hinata?" … oh. Crap. I was pretty sure my heart just stopped. Due to the fact that had been the voice of... well, isn't it just too obvious?

I quaked slightly, but peeled open my eyes. Sure enough, a pair of blue eyes stared down at me. _Naruto. _

~ - x - ~

_… crap. I fainted again._ Being bold just wasn't my strong suit. I was more of a quiver-in-the-shadows-and-pray-no-one-sees-me kinda girl.

God, I can't even begin to count the times Kurenai would tease me about Naruto. Actually, on several different occasions, she sat me down, and lectured me on the importance of love. Oh, and how stupid male ninjas were. Apparently, Asuma took several years to even notice her. But, as I'd reasoned with her, my situation and hers were vastly different. She was bold and beautiful (she scoffed at this), and I was shy and dull (she scoffed at this too).

_There isn't a chance in the world,_ I thought, as I rolled my head idly to the side, _that Naruto-_

_…_

_…No. Freaking. Way. _I blinked several times, sure my eyes were deceiving me. There was no way that said ninja was sitting, oh, a foot and a half a way, sleeping.

I stared at him, dumbstruck. It was dark in the room, but even the smallest amount of light reflected itself off his golden hair.

… oh, don't judge me. Yes, I did stare unabashedly at him. But come on! I rarely got opportunities like these. I could completely and utterly ogle at him, and he wouldn't be any the wiser. He looked so peaceful, sleeping. His hair was messy, but at the same time, perfect. His mouth hung open ever so slightly, as his face rested against a propped up hand. My eyes glided down him, and I frowned. The chair he was sitting in definitely didn't look comfortable.

Why would he do that? Why for me? Breathing started to become difficult. I reach for the plastic air-mask with my good hand, and did my best to peel it off my mouth. I managed to push it up, enough that I could gasp normal air; but breathing was still hard. My eyes flashed to the plastic mask, as my fingers numbly worked with the strap.

My mind was tangled in thoughts. Like, how close Naruto was. So very, very close. _He spent the night in the hospital... for me... _on that thought, my mind actually hovers for a bit. Didn't the hospital get destroyed during the blast?

My fingers located the latch for the air mask. _Thank god, _I think. For some reason, having it on my face was annoying. Almost constricting.

Before I could unlatch it though, a hand folded over my own. I froze. Slowly, oh so slowly, my eyes made their way to the right.

Sure enough, Naruto was watching me.

"You need to keep wearing the mask." His fingers gently intertwined with my own, pulling them away from the plastic mask. His other hand appeared, and pulled the mask back down over my mouth.

I was sure I was going to faint again. He was_ touching_ me. His hand, on my hand. My face burned. Oh god. I tried to speak, but I couldn't._ I'm going to make a huge fool of myself. I just know it_. Naruto smiles down at me, and does the unpredictable.

Kakashi was right when he dubbed Naruto the Number One Unpredictable Ninja.

His hand brushed my cheek lightly, while he grinned softly down at me.

I fainted (yet again).

~ - x - ~

I awoke next to the sound of arguing.

I pressed my eyes closed, trying to rekindle my thoughts. Flashes of the Naruto from the night before flashed before me, and my cheeks heated up.

"... ashamed! He practically saved the entire village!" A female's voice snapped from the edge of my bed. A harsh voice responded, immediately to my right.

"I don't care if he saves the world. I don't want him near my daughter!" … oh great. Just who I wanted to see.

Daddy.

"Hiashi, you're being unreasonable!"

"She's not even on his team. I see no reason for him to need to spend the _night _in her hospital room!"

"He feels responsible, Hiashi! You have heard the accounts; she ran out to save him!"

"And that was her own misjudgment. I will deal with it properly." Hiashi paused, and I partially opened one eye and glanced at him. Sure enough, he was sitting in his high-and-might position, chin raised, back straight, eyes firm. "I don't want the boy in here."

"Hiashi, it's not your choice. Your daughter-"  
"My daughter lives under my roof, and under my rules." My father cut off with a thick growl. I had to wonder if he'd yelled at Naruto.

A weight distracted me from their conversation. Something big, sitting on me. I blinked, trying to get the sand out of the corners of my eyes (jeez, did Gaara attack me in my sleep?).  
"So, you're finally awake." Oh, I knew that sarcastic voice anywhere. Honestly, I was surprised she was in the room while Tsunade and Hiashi were arguing. Then again, she wasn't the easiest little girl to order around.

What I meant to say next was '_You're back from your mission?_' What I ended up saying was, "Yar back... are misshin?" My throat was sandpaper, and as soon as I spoke, a thin cough escaped me.

Hanabi, hearing the later, let out a roar of laughter. "Oh my god, Hinata, you sound hilarious!" … what a nice sister I have. Mental note : get revenge. Maybe I could tell Konohamaru she still sleeps with a stuffed animal. He'd spread the word real fast. "Want some water?"

Okay, so maybe she isn't that bad. I nodded in response, not wanting to humiliate myself more by speaking. Something cool pressed into my left hand, and I quickly brought it up to my face. I doubted I'd ever felt thirstier. Water, sweet water.

The water ran down my chin, down my neck, dousing the collar of my clothes, and the bed sheets beneath me. Hanabi let out a gigantic roar of laughter, this time curling into a ball, and rolling off the bed. I heard her hit the floor with a thud, still laughing like a mad man.

I'd forgotten about the damn air mask.

"Shit..." I muttered for my ears only, placing the glass, still half full, on a nightstand to my left. Hanabi was still laughing.

I remembered my audience. Turning slowly, I tried to grin apologetically towards my father.

Failure. He glared at me, his nose wrinkled. Great. I know, dad, I know. I'm a disgrace. An utter failure, worthless. Withering inside, I watched as he stood up, and stormed towards the door.

"We will discuss this more later, Tsunade. Hanabi, come." And with that, they were gone, Hanabi still snickering as she walked out the door.

"See ya, sister!"

I wanted to cry. It was a common occurrence and I was good ignoring it. Sitting up slowly, I whipped my chin on my sleeve.

"Here." I glanced up at Tsunade, before taking the proffered towel. There was a few moments of awkward silence, as I dried my neck and collar. "Your father's wrong." My eyes darted back up to the Hokage, surprised. "What you did was brave, and courageous. You may have actually saved us all." Her words echoed in my mind. I saved everyone? How? By being taken down in one hit? By shouting out to Naruto that I, a girl he barely knew, loved him at the worst moment possible? There was no good in what I did. My father was totally right. And now, Naruto would reject me.

Tsunade left, and I slide down into my bed, filling myself up with angst.

~ - x - ~

"Bee es!" Eh? Lazily, I pulled my left hand over to my eyes, and rubbed them. Bee es?

"Take 'em!" Came a barking reply, and some actual barking. _Kiba, Akamaru_? I guessed, lifting my head and opening my eyes a centimeter. I immediately shut them, though. It was bright, probably just a little after noon. The window was open, and cool air spilled into the room. Once my eyes readjusted, I squinted through them at the three boys surrounding the table.

The panic didn't immediately onset this time. Akamaru sat closest to me, sprawled on the ground beside Kiba's chair. He, Shino, and Naruto were sitting around a circular table, each holding a hand of cards.

_Ah, _ I thought, _BS. _Kiba and Shino had taught me the game a long time ago, on one of our early missions. I was absolutely dreadful at it, as I couldn't help but feel horrible, and show it, every time I lied.

I watched them lethargically for a minute, my eyes half lidded.

"Two kings." Shino announced, before sliding his cards onto the deck. There was a heavy silence, as both Kiba and Naruto stared at him with narrowed eyes.

"I've got two myself!" Kiba laughed darkly, showing his canine teeth.

Naruto fell for his trick, hard.

"BS!" The blond headed ninja said victoriously, pointing at Shino dramatically.

"... take them." Was the bug user's response.

"What?" Naruto responded, shocked. "But I have a king, and Kiba has..." Flipping the cards in the deck over revealed that indeed, Shino had placed down two kings. "Lier!" My crush hissed loudly, and for a moment I thought it was going to pelt Kiba with playing cards. Kiba only stuck his tongue out, chuckling softly. Thankfully, Naruto turned back to the game, pouting only slightly.

"Fine. One queen." The game continued, but the sound of birds chirping drew my head to the window.

And I gapped. My earlier question rushed back to me; hadn't the hospital been destroyed?

Apparently, they'd rebuilt it in a rush, that is, if it had been destroyed. Some destruction,, though, sure as hell had happened. I stared out the window, out at the giant brown hole where many a store and home had been. In some of the closer areas, construction was already taking place, on new buildings. From my view point, I could see eight different buildings going up, with surprising speed.

Or maybe I'd just been knocked awhile.

But then, as a few planks of wood appeared out of the ground, creating a brand new ninth building, I had to rethink that. I watched curiously as the man who did the jutsu consulted a blue print before continuing. The guy was one of Naruto's team's leaders. Yamato, I believe.

It was all destroyed though. Just a huge field. I remembered the Akatsuki's member's technique, that destroyed the town. The thing is, it really didn't set in, when it happened. Now I was staring at it.

"How long have I been out?" I asked softly, my eyes still locked on the window. A silence hung in the air after I spoke. Either they were surprised I was awake, or they were silently laughing at my muffled voice, thanks to my air mask thing.

"Three days." Naruto replied, gently.

_… Naruto._

_… Hm. Panic should be setting in around now._

Oddly enough, I managed to breathe. Now, the beat of my heart was surely elevated, but I wasn't at the level where I was at the danger of fainting. Could I be really getting bolder? I ran another inspection; yes, my cheeks were warm, and I found it extremely awkward with him in the room, but I wasn't about to pass out. I wasn't all-out panic-attacking either. I was actually being bold!

The scrapping of a chair drew me back to reality. Naruto was pushing himself up, eyes locked on mine.

_… okay, blood pressure going up! He's coming over here, he's staring into my eyes!_

I panicked mentally, glancing around the room for anything to save me.

I never really get girls who complain about bugs. Sometimes, bugs are pretty awesome. Especially in this case, they were. Shino's bugs appeared around Naruto's shoulders, and shoved him back down.

"We're not done with our game." My teammate drawled, as he placed down a card. Naruto continued to watch me for a moment, before sighing.

"Right."

God, I couldn't face him. I really couldn't. Not now, not ever. My boldness was nothing but a fairy tale. I wondered what were the chances that I could escape during the night. Judging by my father's tone from before, I doubted Naruto would get the chance to stay the night again. Maybe under the cover of darkness, I could slip off. Maybe I could head to Suna. It's not such a bad place, once you get over the fact that you're living in a desert, where it's 103 degrees year round, and about six hours journey to water.

I thanked Shino inwardly for buying me more time.

How could I deal with Naruto? Turning my head to gaze at the window, I explored my options Maybe I could confess my love again, as sappily as I could, and take whatever criticism he dishes back. Maybe I could wait for him to say something, maybe only respond when he asks something. Use my right to remain silent.

Speaking of rights, I glanced down at my right hand. I hadn't really paid attention to the bandage before, but now that I looked...

It was orange.

What the hell?

I wasn't even aware bandages came in that color.

My eyes drifted up to Naruto subconsciously. He was watching me, but, unlike I feared, he didn't look upset. I held in the happy sigh. I'd been fearing, what if he was worrying how to easily let me down? What if...

I cleared my head of those thoughts. They weren't pleasant.

But orange, really? An orange bandage? I didn't even feel like asking, because I could guess. Out of all the ninjas in our graduating class, there had only been one bold enough to wear bright orange all the time. Naturally destroying his chances of blending into the forest during a fight. Orange might as well have been his trade mark.

Maybe I could claim that I loved him as a friend. Or a brother. That idea came to me, as I admired the bright orange bandages. Loved him... as a role model, as I had pointed out that he inspired me.

_"I wanted to be with you."_ Unfortunately, that line would be hard to account for. _To be with you... for support?_ I tried, before frowning. If that wasn't the stupidest thing, I didn't know what was.

"Well, Kurenai-sensei wants to us to help out with the rebuilding." Kiba suddenly announced. My blood ran cold. "So, me and Shino'll see you guys later." They started packing up the cards, as I stared at them with wide-eyed. Shino only passed me a small wave, before he followed Kiba out the door.

I could hear my fate being sealed as the door shut.

I was left alone. With him.

_"Because I-- love you..." _

I couldn't come up with a feasible excuse for the pitiful truth.

I gulped, and met his eyes.

~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~

I hope that didn't turn out too angsty. :D I just imagine that Hinata, shy as she is, would be pretty upset at herself after practically shouting out "BTW, I love you". Not that that wasn't the most romantic thing ever (it was. I mean, I SQUEALED. Big time.)

My longest story to date. :O Hooray!

Leave me a review, and tell me if you liked it! Or, leave one and tell me you absolutely hated it. D: But if that's the case, do say way.

If you're Manbearpig... I'm serial. I will catch you! :(

I'll get the next chapter out soon enough. ;D Even if I don't finish it within the next week, I'll have all of spring break to do it.

Sayonara!


	2. Him

_**D**__isclaimer'd_ _:_ It was the worst of times, it was the I-don't-own-Naruto times.

_**M**y Note :_ GAH! I cannot write chapters. No no no. I was writing this, knowing that if I put it off I'll never get to it, and the whole time, other stories were popping up in my head. I have a very teeny tiny attention span. So this is pretty short... o-o; I also tried to write it in a different perspective... I wonder how that goes. Sorry if you hate it! :D Tell me, so I know to avoid chapters/males in the future. :3

Oh, and by the way, I don't really mean to make Hiashi seem like a vindictive jerk. o_o; I just can imagine him as a very protective father. He just loves his daughter too much to want to see a boy with her. :D Even just staying the night in her hospital room. He needs proper supervision to be in there at all, or at least that's what Hiashi says. :)

**SPOILER WARNING SPOILER WARNING SPOILER WARNING SPOILER WARNING**

{_spoilers for chapter 437_}

~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~

**B**_e_caus_e_

~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~

p**a**rt ._two_.

"Are you okay?" I asked cautiously, eyeing the girl on the bed in front of me. She was shaking, looking absolutely terrified.

Well, at least that wasn't out of the ordinary. I turned in my chair, sitting backwards and folding my arms over the top of the chair. Her white eyes flew away from me, staring desperately at the bed sheets.

Was I really that scary?

Not that I could blame her. It was a pretty awkward situation. Rubbing the back of my head, I pondered just what I may say. Words weren't coming, though. Through the years, Hinata had been a really good friend of mine, sure. But... even if I'd thought of her a few times romantically, I'd never really thought about seriously asking her out.

For one, she was overly sweet, and I was explosive and often crude.

In honesty, there weren't any girls I seriously wanted to date. Not even Sakura; over the years, she had became more of a sister then anything else.

Akatsuki played a major factor in my ignorance of girls. If I was to start up a relationship with a girl, they'd start to target her. She'd be at risk, and what if I couldn't protect her? Sometimes, it was hard enough watching my own back. Hell, Pain nearly won.

What was I supposed to say to Hinata?

I really didn't want to hurt her. She was surprisingly cute, a blush across her face. It kind of saddened me. If there wasn't a demon in me, I'd probably jump her right there and then. She was adorable...

And that was the worst part. Over the past three days, I'd been sitting diligently by her bed side. Well, disregarding the time that Hiashi threw me out. (he hadn't particularly happy to see 'a ruffian spending time in my daughter's presence without a supervisor'.) And in that time... hell, I was developing a crush on the poor girl.

And it didn't help that she admitted that she loved me.

I may have even been able to remain in denial if it wasn't for Kiba. At first, I'd thought that person she meant in love as friends, maybe. I glanced over at the door, frowning. The dog boy had found the need to fill me in on every little detail he knew about Hinata's crush on me.

Hinata started to play with her hair, twirling her locks around one finger. I watched her, putting my chin onto my arms. Where to start? How to let her down easy?

Though, that truly wasn't the biggest problem.

The biggest problem was that I didn't want to let her down. At all.

I mean, she loved me. People don't just... love. Not easily, you know? Geez...

Hinata's eyes raised, and met mine for a moment. Then back down they fell, focusing on the bed sheets.

Shino was right. If I rejected her, I would probably crush her.

I didn't want to crush her.

I didn't want to reject her.

And, I reasoned, she could protect herself. I mean, she even injured Pain some when she attacked. To defeat pain, I had to go into six-tail form. Heck, I was already having to defend the whole village. Defending her a little more fiercely... it wouldn't be that much of a problem.

Cute was a great word to describe Hinata. I smirked, as she innocently continued to play with her hair. Shy. Ironic, as I was just about the boldest thing in the world. I had no problem with running through town screaming at the top of my lungs. (Do note that that was a dare from Kiba. I mean, I had to do it.)

I almost wished I'd taken note of Hinata was a kid. According to Kiba and Shino, there were plenty of signs; I was just too idiotic to take notice of any of them. To think she'd almost died, and I hadn't once taken notice of her...

She continued to play with her hair.

I really, really didn't know what to say. I never really was good with girls. Once, while on a mission with Shikamaru's team, Ino had burst out crying. Apparently, Sasuke had called her outfit ugly. So naturally she came running to me.

_"Ah, sorry?"_ I'd said, patting the girl on the back. She then proceeded to slap me, hard.

Hinata was different though. I doubt she was gonna slap me. In fact, I doubted she could even speak right now, by her trembling.

Damn it, I needed advice. Letting out a sigh, I gazed out the window. I'd promised Sakura not to let it depress me... but right now, Kaka-sensei's advice would be great.

_I miss you._ I couldn't help but think. Hell, I'd just lost two of my teacher's in quick succession. I was practically all by myself.

"A-ah... um... N-naruto-k-kun..." So, she could speak. I glanced up, surprised, to find her eyes on me. Still shaking, of course. ".. um... I'm... sorry..." You got to be kidding me. The girl looked like someone just stabbed her puppy. Shit. Did I really matter that much to her? I mean...

Crap, was I blushing?

Rubbing my check, I let out another sigh.

"Hinata..." I really didn't want to break her heart. And I realized, hell, I didn't have the heart to break her heart. _Well, there's only one thing to do then_, I thought.

Hinata's eyes widened as I leapt out of the chair and walked over to her.

"Eh, N-n-n-naru-" She couldn't even get my name out, she was trembling so bad. I grinned slightly; scaring her wasn't my goal, but... well, she did look adorable, sitting there fidgeting, a bright blush on her face.

"Don't apologize." I told her, taking her chin. Okay, time for all of that training with Jiraiya to pay off.

Kissing. _Okay, I like kissing. _I thought, as I pushed my lips against hers'. Soft, warm... was that vanilla I tasted? Jeez, she was so sweet... I ran my hands through her hair, surprised to find it silky soft. Hadn't I ever touched her hair before? Seemingly not... but now, I wanted to touch it more.

The white eyed girl was stiff to my touch, at least for the first few moments.

Then, she was fervently kissing me back, and suddenly my world exploded. My lips, working against hers, her hands on my chest and in my hair.

I can't remember just when I pinned her to the bed, but, any which way, Hiashi was _not _pleased at the situation he found us in. I'd almost have preferred to face Pain again, rather then her father.

And so, I found myself exiled from her hospital room.

~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~

Today was the day though. The day she was getting released. I leaned against the wall, watching the door to the hospital. Today, Sakura wasn't even letting me in the hospital. Hiashi had spent the better part of the morning in Hinata's room, and the last thing Sakura needed, or so she said, was more machines broke.

It's not my fault I tripped over Hinata's heart monitoring thing when Hiashi's dad went after me.

The doors creaked open, and I grinned as barking reached my ears. Akamaru dashed out first, before turning and woofing at the ninjas following him. Kiba, Hinata, and Shino followed slower, talking quietly among themselves. Sakura had promised me to distract Hiashi as soon as Hinata was released, to give me a chance to speak with her. Sure enough, the Hyuuga clan leader was no where in sight.

As I approached, Kiba let out a laugh, and he and Shino peeled off from Hinata. She blushed, like usual, her eyes on the ground. But she was smiling. I decided quickly I liked that smile.

"Hey." I said cheerfully, reaching out and grabbing a piece of her hair once I got to her.

"Hi." She responded softly, her eyes still on the ground. Her face reddened.

Chuckling, I pulled her face up to meet mine.

"_Get away from my daughter!_"

"Shit!" Oh well. There would be plenty of other times to make out with the stuttering angel later.

And so I turned and took off, before Hiashi could jyuuken my ass.

~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~

**End.**

~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~ ~ - x - ~

I do feel like this was pretty poorly done. o__o;

Maybe I share Hinata's confidence. D;

You do have to wonder just what Naruto thought when Hinata said "I love you". I sure did. Kishimoto, write the next Naruto chapter!

Maybe I'll write another 437 spoof or something. Make it a one-shot. Third person this time, maybe. I was thinking of making a collection of one-shot NaruHinas.

Ah well. We'll see, we'll see. Have a nice night everyone, and** PLZ**_LOL_**ROTF_LMAO_**_OMG_BRB_**MBP**_ review. :D

( Admit it. That caught your attention. :3 )


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